


The Princess, The Blacksmith, and The Three Tasks

by Sorcha_Drochaid



Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms, Original Work
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-19
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-05-14 23:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5763376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorcha_Drochaid/pseuds/Sorcha_Drochaid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pretty much the stereotypical Fairy Tale!<br/>[I wrote and posted this ages ago and it was (and really, still is) pretty much the stereotypical Fairy Tale! However, it occurred to me that it is a much, MUCH better story, and more of a story that I would want to read now, if the blacksmith was a woman. So, a quick change of pronouns and a slight detangling of who's who, and here is a much improved tale!]</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Princess, The Blacksmith, and The Three Tasks

Once upon a time, long, long ago, in a place so far away you will never have heard of it, there lived a king. This king had three daughters, each more beautiful than the last, and as well as their great beauty, each princess had been given another special gift.

His eldest daughter was beautiful and clever and she was married to a young king in a neighbouring kingdom and helped him to rule with her clever suggestions.

His middle daughter was beautiful and funny and she was married to a young king in a neighbouring kingdom and helped him to rule by charming foreign ambassadors with her sharp wit.

His youngest daughter was beautiful and she had been given the gift of music, but she was not married. It was not because nobody wanted a musical princess. Of course they did, for she could play so sweetly that she could melt even the stoniest of hearts. But she did not want any of the suitors that were brought before her. Not kings, not princes, not dukes, not marquis', not earls, not viscounts, not barons and not even mayors. Nobody. The king had begun to despair of ever marrying his youngest daughter off...

One day, the king decided that enough was quite enough and his youngest daughter simply must be married. Of course, he wanted to make sure that whoever was going to marry her was worthy of her, so he would provide a series of tests for them. They prove their worth and get to marry a princess, and he gets a few jobs done in the process. Perfect.

Immediately, the king sent messengers to all four corners of the earth letting it be known that the princess and half his kingdom would go to the one who could accomplish the following tasks:

Firstly, the worthy suitor must slay, or otherwise render harmless, a giant wolf that had been terrorising villagers in the mountains.

Secondly, the worthy suitor must steal from the hall of the ogre lord, a valuable pendant, which had been stolen from the king some years ago.

Lastly, the worthy suitor must bring peace to the man who can never sleep. His curse, to be forever wakeful, is another tale.

This news reached the ears of a young blacksmith from not so far away. She had once seen the youngest princess ride through the streets and had been so enchanted by her that she had followed her to the gates of the castle and listened with tears in her eyes as the princess sang in the garden. She had fallen in love with the princess that day. She was determined to try her luck.

Her family laughed at her.

"You'll never make it!" "You're a fool!" "The princess will never want the likes of you!" "You're good for nothing!" "You'll die!"

She did not listen to them.

So, along with a hundred other hopeful suitors, she made her way to the castle to present herself before the king. She had begged and borrowed suitable clothes to wear but still looked the shabbiest of the bunch.

The king looked over the crowd assembled before him and addressed them all:

"You will all go individually to try and accomplish the tasks I have set. You will draw straws to see who goes first."

The blacksmith hoped that she would get the first chance, but the honour went to a well-dressed prince from over the sea. With a dramatic bow, the young prince made his way out to attempt the first task.

"As for the rest of you" said the king, "my castle is yours. Make yourselves at home until it is your turn or until the prince has accomplished the tasks"

The hopeful suitors filed out and most headed straight for the kitchens.

The blacksmith took this opportunity to seek out the princess. She found her in exactly the spot in the garden that she had seen her the day she fell in love with her. The princess was sitting on a stone bench, gently playing a harp and singing softly to herself.

The blacksmith approached quietly and sat down on the ground before the princess and listened. The princess did not look at her once until she had finished her song.

"Did you like my song?" the princess asked the blacksmith with a shy smile.

"I did. Very much. But I think it would sound better accompanied by a lute instead of a harp, and I think that the range might be a bit much for your delicate voice, and I think you need some more accompaniment as well, also, you could do with having some different harmonies in there, because you're not making the most of what is musically available to you, and I think you should have another voice singing with you, and..." the blacksmith trailed off.

"Anything else?" the princess asked in an icy tone.

"No, that's it" the blacksmith replied, terrified that the princess was going to throw the harp at her.

Without warning, the princess burst into laughter and the blacksmith relaxed, knowing that the harp would not be heading towards her head after all.

"Perhaps you'd like to join me then, Lady Critic? From the top" the princess said. And they sang together beautifully.

In the days that followed, the princess and the blacksmith would often meet in the garden to sing and talk. They found they had a lot in common and, much to the surprise of the princess, she found herself falling in love with her.

One day, a messenger arrived saying that the prince from over the sea had been killed attempting to slay the giant wolf.

"Another must try." announced the king. Who shall it be?"

Roughly half the suitors decided that they perhaps didn't want to marry the princess quite so much after all and left quietly by the back door.

More straws were drawn, and again the blacksmith was not the one to go but a scarred and rugged looking lord from over the mountain. He made his way out to attempt the challenges. The remaining suitors made their way out to the kitchens. The blacksmith made her way out to find the princess.

Three days later, a messenger arrived saying that the rugged prince from over the mountain had been killed attempting to slay the giant wolf.

"Another must try." announced the king. "Who shall it be?"

All the remaining suitors except the blacksmith decided that they perhaps didn't want to marry the princess quite so much after all and quietly left by the back door.

"That leaves me then" said the blacksmith, and she made her way out do say her farewells to the princess.

The princess was unhappy.

"I don't want you to go. I'll go to my father. I'll tell him this isn't necessary. I'll tell him I love you."

"You what, sorry?" the blacksmith gasped in disbelief.

"You heard me, you pudding. I love you."

The blacksmith did a very small dance of joy and swept the princess up in her arms and kissed her.

"You know I have to go." she said at last.

"I suspected you'd say that." she replied "So I made you these."

Out of the pocket of her dress, she produced three small boxes, intricately carved and inlaid with silver. She placed them in the blacksmith's hands.

"In each of these boxes is a song. I believe they will help you."

With that, the princess turned and walked away, leaving the blacksmith alone in the garden.

Pulling herself together, the blacksmith placed the boxes carefully in her pack and left the castle grounds, making her way to the village with the giant wolf.

It took her the best part of the day to get there so it was nearly night by the time she arrived in the village. The villagers were all hurrying around boarding up their windows and herding their children off the streets. They all looked at the blacksmith with pity in their eyes, seeing her as a dead woman. She sat herself down in the village square and waited for night to fall and for the wolf to come.

She did not wait long.

She heard it first before she saw it. It growled so loudly it was like a small thunderstorm and its breathing sounded like a drawbridge being lowered. It smelled foul as well. Years worth of human snacks were stuck between its teeth, and human blood had matted its fur. When it finally came into view, the blacksmith saw a terror like nothing she had seen before. It was bigger than a warhorse and its fur was the colour of bloodied steel. Its dull yellow eyes were huge and full of hate, and when it snarled, its teeth were as long as a man's hand.

Keeping her eye on the wolf, the blacksmith carefully took one of the princess' boxes out from her pack and tied a long leather cord around it in a loop.

The wolf stared at the blacksmith for a long time. Then, without warning, it leapt for her. She managed to throw herself out of the way just in time and the wolf landed behind her. Using this brief window of opportunity, the blacksmith opened the box. Out of it, there came beautiful, clear music. The wolf was entranced. It came over to the blacksmith and lay down before her. The blacksmith looped the leather cord round the wolf's neck and patted it gently on the head before giving it a gentle push in the direction of the village gates. The music had soothed the wolf. It would not be bothering the villagers anymore.

The first trial was over.

Without waiting to talk to the villagers, the blacksmith headed off to find the hall of the ogre lord. It took her two days to get there and when she arrived, she was captured by some ogre guards, who took her before the ogre lord to be judged for her trespassing. By singing some of the many songs that she had learned from the princess, the blacksmith managed to convince the ogre lord that she was a travelling minstrel, and the ogre lord was so impressed that he made the blacksmith a guest in his hall. The blacksmith was given a guided tour of the place and the highlight of the tour was the treasure room, the prize piece being a "Pendant what was stolen from foolish humie king who think ogre not smart. We smart! Foolish king."

Wasting no time, the blacksmith produced another of the princess' boxes and opened it. The music that was played was a jolly dance and the ogres could not help but dance to the music. They had themselves a jolly dance party and in the midst of it all, the blacksmith swiped the pendant and ran like the wind out the door. As far as I know, the ogres are still dancing.

The second trial was over.

Pleased with her success so far, the blacksmith headed out to find the man who can never sleep. It took her three days to reach the island on which the man lived.

The blacksmith did not know where on the island she would find the man, and there did not seem to be any other inhabitants that she could ask. So she decided that she would wait for the man to come to her. She found herself a nice tree to sit under and promptly fell asleep. She was awoken by an anguished cry beside her.

"Who are you and why do you torment me so with your sleep?"

"I'm nobody of any importance" the blacksmith told the man "but I've come to try and help you."

"Help me? How can you help me!? Nobody can help me. The gods themselves can't help me. They mock me." the man choked. "I hate them."

The blacksmith stood up and looked the man in the eyes. There was such pain and anger and madness in them that it broke the blacksmith's heart to see.

She took the last box out of her pack and gave it to the man. The man looked at it, suspiciously at first, then decided he had nothing to lose and opened the box. The music that came forth from the box was the most beautiful lilting lullaby that has ever been heard. A look of shock came over the man's face and he lay down under the same tree that the blacksmith had been under and went to sleep.

The blacksmith covered the man with a cloak and left the island.

The last trial was over.

Her journey back to the king's castle took 7 days and by that time, news of her deeds had reached the king, who greeted her warmly on her return and called her "daughter".

The princess and the blacksmith were married the very next day and they lived happily ever after for the rest of their days.

The End.


End file.
